Waypoints is a weekly link roundup of (mostly) GPS related odds and ends. To get many of these stories as they break, follow me on Twitter.
SPOT and its ilk
- SPOT Connect will allow you to update contacts (and pre-defined messages?) from the field
- Think SPOT Connect is hot? Wait till you see units with two-way communication
- NYT article on SPOT
Satellite news
- That military testing of GPS in the Southeast shouldn’t impact anything but aircraft
- LightSquared says they’ll take GPS concerns to heart…
- …and the FCC gives them the go ahead, summarized here
- Three GPS satellites currently being moved to new orbits
- Russia to complete Glonass satellite constellation in May-June
Garmin
- OKMap now supports Garmin custom maps; via @gpsfix
- How to load custom POIs to a Garmin
- Garmin improves topo support for their marine devices
- Don’t know if this is new or just changed, but Garmin has a Returns & Refunds with their policy stated
- A North Cumberland OHV trails (TN) map
- Know anyone interested in an internship at Garmin?
Updates
GPS in the news
- Windshield-mounted GPS garner tickets, even if not explicitly illegal; via @gatorguy2
- Privacy legislation proposed for GPS-enabled phones
- GPS tagged polar bear swims 426 miles before finding ice
- This weeks edition of “my GPS made me do it”
- Some older stories here, but a good read anyway… Death by GPS in Death Valley NP
- GPS guides special needs student to school
GPS products
- PC World’s top 10 GPS list; sure wouldn’t be mine
- Callaway Golf introduces the upro mx
- A look at several GPS navigators for the blind
- New Panasonic cameras with GPS
- A new motorcycle tracking solution
- ContourGPS helmet cam review
Going mobile
- This app offers you the chance to be an amateur EMT
- VZ Navigator gets an update
Android
- A sneak peek at TwoNav for Android, coming in March
- EveryTrail Pro gets offline maps
iOS
- Navigon debuts iPhone car kit
- A review of the Garmin StreetPilot app
- TomTom simplifies address entry for their iOS app
- Free GIS app for the iPad
Just geo
- Get alerted when there is updated imagery for your location on Google Maps and Google Earth
- Historical photo sites using Google Maps interface
- Looks like us Southerners suffer from potty mouth
All the news that doesn’t fit
- I added an addendum to my Magellan eXplorist 710 review
- I also posted a YouTube video of the eXploist 710 interface
- Is this what happens if your car has an electronic compass that needs calibrating?
- Don’t Tell My Spouse I’m Geocaching – a hit single? The song is embedded here if you want to give it a listen
- In Maine? DeLorme is hosting some free PN-series training classes; hopefully this is a pilot program that will come to other places too
- A GPS geek in Russia (great pics)
- Getting cars to talk to each other
Current GPS deals
Currently featured on our GPS deals site:
- Garmin Approach G5 golf GPS for $229.99
- Garmin eTrex Venture HC for $69.99
- Garmin US Inland Lakes $40 rebate
- Garmin nuvi 1350LMT for $168.24
- Connected Garmin nuvi 1690 for $190.69
- Garmin nuvi 1350 for $118.18
Updated GPS Reviews
I’ve updated these review and resource pages with the following links:
- Garmin Edge 705 — Tredz reviews this cycling GPS
- Garmin Edge 800 – A mini-review from Bent Up Cycles; Perpetual Motion also posts a brief review
About Rich Owings
